Fundamentals and family earn Timpanogos baseball a 5A state championship win over Lehi
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- Timpanogos baseball players pose with the 5A state championship trophy at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos senior Landon Young (21) shows the 5A baseball state championship trophy to fans at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos baseball players embrace after winning the 5A state championship at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s McGwire Madsen is safe at third base during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series against Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos pitcher Tate MacGillivray delivers to the plate during the 5A baseball state championship series against Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s Bowen Ingersoll (1) slides into second base as Timpanogos shortstop Tate MacGillivray applies a tag during the 5A baseball state championship series at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s Jackson Brousseau reacts at third base after hitting a triple in Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series with Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Collin Morgan of Timpanogos rounds third base during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series against Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi players react after scoring a run in the 5A baseball state championship game against Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos pitcher Chase Riggs holds the 5A baseball state championship trophy aloft at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Luke Livingston of Timpanogos celebrates hitting a triple in Game 1 of the 5A baseball state tournament championship against Lehi at Utah Valley’s UCCU Ballpark on Friday, May 26, 2023. At press time, Timpanogos led the game 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning.
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- Lehi’s Braden Willes rounds third base during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series against Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s Ashton Holbrook (right) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run in Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series with Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos players pose with the 5A baseball state championship trophy at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos junior Chase Riggs delivers a pitch during the 5A baseball state championships against Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s McGwire Madsen (7) slides safely into home plate during the 5A baseball state championship series against Timpanogos at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi players in the dugout watch Timpanogos celebrate the 5A state baseball championship at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Dylan McWhorter of Timpanogos dives back toward first base during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series against Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Players in the Timpanogos dugout celebrate as Tyler Morgan (5) returns after scoring a run in Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series with Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Lehi’s McGwire Madsen leaps for a throw as Tate McGillivray of Timpanogos slides into second base during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championships at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Collin Morgan of Timpanogos lays down a bunt during Game 2 of the 5A baseball state championship series against Lehi at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
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- Timpanogos baseball coach Kim Nelson reacts after getting an ice bath at the conclusion of his team’s 8-1 victory against Lehi in the 5A state championship game at UVU’s UCCU Ballpark on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
Fundamentals and family.
Those were the hallmarks of the 2023 Timpanogos baseball team, the things that kept the Timberwolves on track and eventually resulted in winning the program’s seventh state title.
“This is the best one right now,” Timpanogos head coach Kim Nelson said with a smile.
The fundamental skills were clearly on display when the Timberwolves took the field against Lehi in Game 3 of the best-of-three 5A state championship series at UCCU Ballpark in Orem on Saturday night.
After winning Game 1 on Friday but dropping a thrilling Game 2 to the Pioneers, 8-7, earlier in the day, Timpanogos knew it faced an opponent that had the momentum and the advantage of being the home team for the deciding contest.
“After coming back, we had tons of energy,” Timberwolf senior Tate MacGillivray said. “We had time to think about it. We had time to gather ourselves and get more excited. It’s not the end of the world, losing one game. You’ve got to win another one. Having that energy and the people here cheering, it helped us get the momentum going.”
What transpired over the next seven innings was classic Timpanogos baseball.
It wasn’t flashy offensively, with MacGillivray having the only two extra-base hits (both doubles) — but it was all about being effective.
It was laying down great bunts to move runners and executing when the hit-and-run was on.
It was impressively consistent as the Timberwolves got a run on two hits in the first, drew a walk and moved the runner around to score in the second, tallied three runs on four hits in the fourth, added a run on two hits in the sixth and capped it with two runs on one hit in the seventh to get the 8-1 win.
“I think in most all those innings we got the first guy of the inning on base,” Nelson said. “It just kind of helped that motion get going.”
The flashy part of the Timpanogos performance was on defense.
The Timberwolves got an excellent, complete-game five-hitter from junior pitcher Chase Riggs, but he was quick to point out that he didn’t do it alone.
“We have the best defense in the state and that made it easy,” Riggs said. “All those guys were making plays. It was unreal. I just had to throw strikes and they were going to make plays. I just trusted them behind me and they made it happen.”
Whether it was centerfielder Luke Livingston sprinting 30 yards to barely snag a fly ball deep in the gap, right fielder Landon Young charging in to make a diving catch or MacGillivray and second baseman Collin Morgan gobbling up ground balls in the infield, Timpanogos simply refused to let Lehi get any offensive momentum.
“Defensively, you witnessed four or five plays that could’ve been on SportsCenter’s Top 10,” Nelson said. “That obviously kept them at bay. And Chase Riggs on the mound was on top of it from the first pitch. It was really good for him and it was just a great night.”
Pioneer head coach Jason Ingersoll had to agree, since his talented Lehi squad just couldn’t keep up in the final game.
“We just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Ingersoll said. “When you have zero after zero after zero on the scoreboard, it’s hard to beat those guys. Hats off to Timpanogos and Coach Nelson.”
Since the Pioneers lost Game 1 to Timpanogos, 5-2, on Friday night, that meant the pressure was on Lehi in Game 2 to start the action on Saturday.
That contest resembled a classic slinky toy: the Pioneers would go in front, then the Timberwolves would catch up.
It happened three times, starting in the first inning. Lehi scored a run, then Timpanogos got one back in the bottom of the frame.
The Pioneers then extended the lead with two runs in the second and two more in the third — only to see the Timberwolves respond by scoring four themselves to tie it back up in the bottom of the third.
The fourth inning followed the same pattern with each team plating a run, keeping the game tied at 6-6 going to the fifth.
That was when Lehi senior Ashton Holbrook hammered a solo homer and the Pioneers added a second run on an RBI double by senior McGwire Madsen.
This time, however, the Lehi defense held Timpanogos to a single run through the final three innings to secure the one-run win and force the deciding third game of the series.
“We had a great game plan in Game 2,” Ingersoll said. “MacGillivray is a great pitcher but we got his pitch count high. We were able to close the door and I thought we had the momentum going into Game 3. But baseball is a hard sport.”
As the final pop fly settled into the glove of Livingston, the Timberwolves finally got to celebrate.
“It hasn’t hit me yet but I’m shaking,” MacGillivray said. “I’m going to get really emotional in a little. It was amazing, just feeling that pressure leave and the excitement rush is very nice.”
Riggs described the emotions by saying, “It’s crazy. It’s unreal. To see all the work we put in this season with everything we’ve done, just to come out on top, to win this last game and win state, it’s an unreal feeling.”
When asked how the Timberwolves were able to be so good this season, Nelson, MacGillivray and Riggs had the exact same answer: It was all about the family connection this year’s team developed.
“We’re a family,” MacGillivray said “That’s why we have ‘brothers’ written on our arms because we are all brothers. We were out here eating together, hanging out together, playing baseball, having fun together. We’re all family out here.”
Nelson said this group did have a great bond.
“They get together and they are brothers,” Nelson said. “They’ve been brothers the whole last half of the year. They feel it, I feel it and it’s just gratifying to be part of it.”
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